Ladies and Gentlemen,

Mike asked that I post these pictures for him>

Nicely filled room! Must be a pleasure to bunk down and read an appropriate book there. Where are your American trophies? Have you got another one of these rooms? ;-)

Frans

Mike,

Very nice. I love the variety in this room. Is the small antelope in the corner a Steenbuck or ???.

Great room,

Bill

First of all, my thanks to T.Carr for posting these pictures for this computer illiterate . Since I registered here I've noticed that Terry has been very unselfish: going out of his way many, many times to help out fellow members. We're lucky to have him on board. Thanks again Terry.



This room is called my Africa Room. I used to have a mix of North American & African trophies in it, but decided to go exclusively African in theme. My N.A. heads now reside in my garage, basement,the homes of relatives and friends, local gun shops, a local museum, and the new Cabela's store. I just recently had the wallpaper put up. It's made from woven grass, and the colors and texture remind me of a bush camp chalet my wife and I stayed in a few years ago in the Umfolozi Game Reserve in RSA. I've still got a lot to do: better lighting, and new leather furniture, but they cost money so I'm just doing it a little at a time, as my wife & I are also decorating the new home.

Yes, it's a Steenbuck. When my P.H. first spotted it, it was laying on a rock sunning itself, so that's the way I got it mounted.

Very nice.

I hope you've left room for this year's buffalo!

The Buffalo will be next year, but I saved room for it, as well as a Leopard, Sable, and Red Lechwe. Then it'll be addition time.

Mike, great set of mounts you have there! They are accenuated in my mind by the wall paper and all the African "stuff" - I see ostrich eggs, beaded basktets, pictures of elephants, zebra pillows, sculptures/bronzes. Great layout, I'm sure the memories and "feel" of Africa are noticed by you and your guests.

Well done!!

Brad

Nice Mike! This is a great thread that has started. I am getting ideas for an addition! LOL!

I had pillows made in different sizes by Life-Form Taxidermy, from Zebra, Impala, Kudu and Blue Wildebeest. They're not expensive. The Zulu baskets were all picked up in KZN. The bronzes were done by a P.H. friend of mine from South Africa by the name of Allen Hallet. He does everything from minitures to life size-very talented. The ostrich eggs were bought in the big curio shop in JHB Airport.

Some of the things I learned about building a trophy room are that it should be built at least 25% bigger than you think you need. Also, if I had it to do over, I wouldn't have windows in the room-that way you have more wall space. Consult a lighting professional-they can really help you accentuate the mounts. Place 1/2" plywood behind all the drywall-that way you never have to look for a stud, except for perhaps the heaviest mounts. Go with a vaulted ceiling-my room is 20 X 24 and the ceiling goes from 8' on up to 12 1/2.

Mike,
I noticed the Zebra pedestal mount, very nice! Life-Form is doing my Kudu like that. Were you happy with their work? We are also getting some pillows done and were undecided if they should do them or if we should have another place do them who are doing a settee for us out of Zebra. If you were happy with Life-form, it might be just as well to have them do the pillows also.
Thanks!
Blacktailer

Blacktailer-thanks for the kind words. I've used Life-Form on my last 3 Safaris, and have been very pleased with their work and turnaround time. They did 8 pillows for me on my last order. Just let them know what sizes you want. I had 2 sizes made up: 12"x16", and 16"x20". The pillows will come back with a heavy duty zipper on them. Then you just have to take them to a store that sells drapery and upholstery fabrics and pick up the pillow inserts.

Mike: can yo share with me where you boughtthe wallpaper? I like it! I'm in the process of remodelling. thanks, jorge

jorge-the wallpaper is called Seabrook Grasscloth-pattern GR311. My decorator found it for me. They are a distributor, and don't sell direct to the public. They have a website www.seabrookwallcoverings.com and their phone number is 901-320-3500. I'm sure if you contact them, they could give you a contact in Florida. By the way, they're located in Tennesee, so if you call be aware of the time difference. Good luck. Oh, one last thing: this paper gets hung horizontally, not the normal vertically. There is no matching up, as the pattern is totally random. It took 3 professional paperhangers 3 days to do the room, including the wall preparation.

Dude, it's about time you sent your pics in since you started up this thing. I like it! You're making me jealous.